Bob the latest of the Corrin line to showcase real brilliance

There was plenty of confidence behind Corrin Bob prior to Tuesday night’s Ladbrokes Cold Collar final at Crayford, and the Ernie Gaskin-trained runner duly obliged, making the most of his inside line to lead from the first turn on his way to the £7,000 (€10,000) winner’s prize.

The Corrin prefix is a familiar one to racegoers at Youghal and Cork as the winner is from the line of William and Danny Kelleher, Fermoy. He started his racing career at the east Cork track, recording a wide-margin victory in 29.39 (estimated 28.99) on just his third start, after which he was sold to race in Britain.

He’s a younger half-brother to prolific sorts Captain Karnage, who ran-up the Guinness Trophy at Curraheen, and to Corrin Alex, but the best performing of his half-siblings is that grand oldstager Postman Don, whose career high came when he won the Munster Derby at Clonmel in 2014. Four of Corrin Bob’s litter brothers continue to ply their trade around Youghal, and are regular winners.

His dam, Corrin Queen, is a half-sister to Diesel Elsie, who was beaten just half a length by top-class two-bend tracker Shoemakers Lad in the final of the 2011 Southern Sprint.

She has a 2014 litter to Mall Brandy, 11 of which are named and registered. The sire had a couple of injuries which curtailed his career, but he was outstanding at his best, highlighted by that track-record 30.88 over 575 yards on Derby final night 2013 at Shelbourne Park. Few greyhounds have the pace to set records over the sprint trip and over 575, and it’ll be exciting to see what value he can bring to the Corrin line.

Their progeny are worth keeping an eye out for when they appear on the track but, more immediately, a greyhound whose progress is worth following is Varra Sailor.

I knew nothing of the dog until recently brought to my attention by a shrewd judge. The March ’14 pup made his debut last month and, amidst obvious signs of inexperience, did remarkably well to finish runner-up behind Miss July in an A3 race at Limerick. That came over 525 yards, and he was asked to go another 25 yards for his next start, at the same venue, last Sunday week.

Also an A3, the youngster showed the benefit of his initial experience when leading early and pulling away to beat vastly experienced rivals by upwards of eight lengths, in a very smart 29.74.

What I have been told is that his sectionals were in line with what the Leger dogs were doing over course and distance not too many weeks previously. That’s quite astounding for a greyhound having just his second start.

By Head Bound, he’s out of Varra Lark, who won four times in a 16-race career, reaching A2 grade and showing stamina for 575 yards. In a previous litter his dam produced Varra Captain, who ran-up the 2011 Leger and finished third in the Laurels later that same year. The fact Varra Sailor ran over 550 yards on his second start suggests he has inherited plenty of the stamina in his line, and is a tremendously exciting prospect.

There was no racing at Shelbourne Park last night, due to the track accommodating a fundraiser night for the Friends of Dublin Football, which will take place tomorrow night.

There is an obvious and long-established crossover between greyhound racing and GAA, and a huge crowd is expected at the track for the benefit meeting.

Fundraisers are commonplace and they tend to prove very popular — Curraheen Park a consistent showcase — and so I was a little surprised to be contacted by a couple of regular racegoers at the Dublin tracks with a particular gripe about tomorrow’s event.

Excepting the obvious change of date, the crucial difference between this and the standard benefit nights is that entry is €20, it’s an all-ticket affair, and they cannot be purchased at the track on the night.

Clearly, this upset some people. One, who attends the track every night it is open, was insulted that he and all those who support the track regardless of the occasion, were being neglected.

The other, a trainer, was not keen to run his dogs at the meeting as he didn’t want to ask his owners to cough up €20 for the privilege of watching their dog run.

Leaving political views about the distribution of wealth within the GAA to the better-informed, I’m sure there will be a big turnout and it will be a financial success, but it’s hard to deny those Shelbourne regulars made some interesting points.

• Yesterday afternoon Kingdom Greyhound Stadium, Tralee, announced the Kingdom Derby will be sponsored by owner Javier Jarne and run under the banner of Vulturi @Stud Kingdom Derby.

The feature event, to be run over four rounds, will commence on Friday December 4, with the final to take place on the Tuesday of Christmas week, December 22.

Provided the stake fills, the winner will received a cheque for €7,000.